NYT Strands Today – Hints, Answers and Spangram for Friday, November 29 (Game #271)

Strands is the NYT’s newest word game, following Wordle, Spelling Bee and Connections – and it’s a lot of fun. It can be difficult though, so read on for my Strands tips.

Want more word-based fun? Then check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and Quordle today pages for hints and answers for those games.

SPOILER WARNING: Information about today’s NYT Strands is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.

Your Strands expert
Your Strands expert
Marc McLaren

NYT Strands today (game #271) – hint #1 – today’s theme

What is the theme of today’s NYT Strands?

Today’s NYT Strands theme is… Give me a break

NYT Strands Today (Game #271) – Hint #2 – Clue Words

Play any of these words to unlock the in-game hint system.

  • POP
  • WIND
  • RATE
  • IRAT
  • NODE
  • WANT TO

NYT Strands today (game #271) – hint #3 – spangram

What’s a hint for today’s spangram?

Busy doing nothing

NYT Strands Today (Game #271) – Hint #4 – Spangram Position

What are the two sides of the board that today’s spangram comes into contact with?

First: top, 3rd column

Last: bottom, 3rd column

Okay, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.

NYT Strands Today (Game #271) – The Answers

(Image credit: New York Times)

The answers to today’s Strands, game #271, are…

  • COOL
  • RELAXED
  • UNWINDED
  • PAUSE
  • BREAD
  • LOUNGE
  • LUXURY
  • SPANGRAM: DOWNTIME

  • My rating: Moderate
  • My score: 1 tip

This was a tougher Strands puzzle than many, and for that I commend it. No one wants a game that’s so easy that it becomes formulaic, so kudos to the NYT team for this game, which required a bit more thought than the type that just involves naming objects in a certain group.

Sure, the theme here – words for DOWNTIME – is no more complex than some of the others, but unless you’re a walking thesaurus, you’ll have to get that old gray matter working to find them all. Coincidentally, I needed a hint halfway through; I simply ran out of synonyms after CHILL, RELAX, UNWIND and PAUSE. Once I had the spangram it became a lot easier, as is usually the case, and I was done a few minutes later so I could go somewhere else LUXE or LOAF…

How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.


Yesterday’s NYT Strands Answers (Thursday, November 28, Game #270)

  • TURKEY
  • POTATOES
  • SAUCE
  • CRANBERRIES
  • ROLLS
  • YAMS
  • SPANGRAM: LETS PARTY

What is NYT Strands?

Strands is the NYT’s new word game, after Wordle and Connections. It is now out of beta so is a full member of the NYT’s stable of games and can be played on the NYT Games site on desktop or mobile.

I have a full guide to playing NYT Strands, complete with troubleshooting tips, so give that a read if you’re struggling to beat it every day.

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